1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to assemblable building blocks for children. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a new and unique construction for a child building block that is comprised for a formed sheet of material that is manufactured to fold into a block for fort building and child entertainment purposes.
Children need entertainment during days off from school to occupy their young minds and to direct their energy. When children become bored, they can become difficult to handle for parents, as the children may act out or get into trouble. Television provides a useful getaway and an amusement device for children; however this is only a partial solution and one that is not recommended for long periods of time. Parents should encourage their children to remain active and get out of the house, therefore while television is entertaining, it should not replace traditional forms of “play” for a child.
Typical outdoor activities include playing with neighbors and friends, playing different sports, and playing with different toys. One particular type of toy is the building block, which ranges in size and provide a means for a child to create a structure to their liking using their imagination and creativity. Larger building blocks can be utilized to create enclosures, or “forts”, where the child can be creative in its construction and act out a storyline associated with the fort with friends. A useful type of building block includes coupling means between adjacent block members, wherein a stable structure can be erected with no tools or fasteners, and thereafter broken down into its constituent units after playtime.
A common problem with most building blocks is that they consume too much space when stowed, or that they are too complex for a child to operate independently of adult supervision. Static blocks are defined structures that remain in one state, thereby consuming considerable volume within the home when not being used. Deployable construction blocks, by contrast, allow a flat sheet or blank of material to be folded and secured in a manner that transforms the flat material into a three dimensional shape suitable for stacking or building upon. These devices, however, must remain simple in their construction if they are designed for child use, as a multiple folding members and connector elements can quickly overwhelm a young child and defeat the purpose of the entertainment exercise.
The present invention provides a new and novel toy building block device having a flat material construction that is specifically designed to fold into a formed cuboid block, whereby adjoining edges of the block are secured using a simple push tab and tab receiving area. When the tabs are secured and the block is erected, the block forms an upper surface, a pair of side walls, and a pair of end walls that are perpendicularly attached to form the cuboid shape with an open lower. The upper portion of the block comprises at least one upstanding protrusion to fit within the interior of a corresponding block member open lower section positioned thereover. Finally, adjacent blocks can be aligned with one another and secured together utilizing the same push tab and tab receiving area or the upper protrusion of an underlying block secured within an upper block. In this way, upstanding wall structures can be erected in a grid pattern as desired by the child.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to toy building blocks for children to use in constructing play structures and makeshift forts. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications, and generally relate to planar structures that are folded into three dimensional blocks, whereby fold lines and connector elements provide a means to secure the otherwise flat material into an upstanding block structure. The present invention provides a new and unique design for a building block that allows a child to assemble the block from a flat shape and further alignably stack the assembled blocks thereafter for building temporary play structures. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
One such device related to an assemblable block from a planar structure is U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,431 to Trenovan, which discloses a building block formed from a foldable blank, wherein the blank forms a bottom panel, a pair of side panels, end panels, and a pair of top panels. When assembled, the device forms a block structure largely devoid of exterior protrusions for freely stacking the blocks as desired. The folding blank includes tabs that enter into the interior of the block, which when formed establish interior walls that subdivide the interior and provide a greater load carrying capacity for the assembled block. While the Trenovan device discloses a block assemblable from a flat material, the device is more suited for carrying load of a child standing thereon rather than for use erecting larger fort structures using aligned and connectable block structures in a grid like manner.
Still other devices relate to child toy blocks that include connector elements between them. These devices provide unique assemblies that are formed from flat sheets having defined fold lines and connector elements. Yet these devices fail to disclose the novel elements of the present invention, notably the attachment means of the block and between blocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,520 to Huber is one such device that discloses a construction block that is foldable from a flat sheet to a block shape that establishes a container suitable for filling the block interior with available solid material. The device is adapted for use in habitation construction and erecting semi-permanent structures using available solid materials and a construction that is rapid and low cost. Interlocking tab means secure adjacent blocks from above, wherein the tabs insert into a longitudinal slot along the top surface of an existing block. The Huber device provides a useful building block, but is suited for actual building applications for human habitation rather than for child use in temporary play structures.
Another device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,508 to Smith, which discloses a toy building block constructed of a paperboard blank, wherein the block folds into a largely rectangular shape having upwards tabs along its upper end and tab receiving slots along its lower end. The upstanding tabs of adjacent blocks, which comprise semicircular protrusions, can be fitted within the tab receiving slots of blocks placed thereover. In this way, the blocks can be securely stacked to form walls aligned with or perpendicular to the underlying block. The Smith device provides a stackable and alignable block, but fails to disclose the same connector elements along the sides of the device (push tabs) and the open bottom/upper protrusion connector along the top of the present block structure.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,867 to Solomon discloses a folded sheet material forming a toy block having planar surfaces, wherein adjacent blocks can be assembled and connected by way of apertures and a removably connected protrusion means extending outwardly through the apertures in one block and secured therein. The protrusion is secured between the folded sheet material, whereby the cylindrical protrusion is secured by way of its lower flange along its inner end, which is sandwiched between the folded material layers. The means of connecting adjacent elements requires a removable structure that is not integrated into the Solomon sheet material. This limitation is expressly unwanted in the present invention, which provides integrated connector elements for complimentary receiving elements of adjacent block structures.
Finally, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0206872 to Swartz discloses a corrugated board that is foldable into a cuboid block structure and connectors, whereby the block structure includes topside and bottomside holes for accepting therethrough the folded, polyhedron connector element. In this way, the device comprises a two-part assembly that connects adjacent cuboid structures using an insertable connector element therethrough. The Swartz disclosure, similar to the Solomon device, provides a removable and external connector element that is not desired herein by the present block structure.
The present child toy block structure provides a child building block that is formed of a sheet material, wherein the sheet is cut to allow folding into a cuboid block shape having upper surface protrusions, an open lower, and corner connector elements to allow for block erection. The device provides an entertainment device for children to build forts and enclosures during playtime, while the structure of the blocks can be broken down into planar members for storage. The structure and design of the present invention substantially diverges in elements from the prior art. Consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing amusement building block devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.